Where bold voices meet

Forget staying in your lane. This year MEMO goes deep on design, sonic branding, travel, intentional living, and topics chosen to stretch how you think, no matter what you do.

Speaker Lineup

Shad (Shadrach Kabango)

Canadian rapper and broadcaster

  • Shad is a Canadian recording artist of Rwandan descent, raised in London, Ontario. He is known for blending humour and weighty themes, inspiring positivity while exploring a range of sounds over the course of his 20-year career.

    Shad won the Juno Award for Rap Recording Of The Year in 2011 and five of his albums have been shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize for Canadian Album Of The Year, the most shortlist nominations of any artist in the prize’s history. Shad has also served as a broadcaster, hosting CBC Radio's Q and Netflix’s Emmy and Peabody Award-winning series Hip-Hop Evolution, and has taught hip-hop-related courses at both Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Toronto.

Bonnie Wan

Global speaker, teacher, and bestselling author of The Life Brief

  • Bonnie Wan is a global speaker, teacher, and bestselling author of The Life Brief, a simple yet profound practice that helps people navigate life’s biggest and trickiest decisions with clarity, creativity and courage. The Life Brief applies the art and science of brand strategy to how we live and lead, helping people get clear, take meaningful action, and lead with greater intention and imagination. 

    As AdAge’s 2022 Chief Strategy Officer of the Year and 30-year Brand Strategy Leader turned Leadership & Life Strategist, Wan has led strategy for some of the most iconic and innovative companies in the world. She has been named an Advertising Icon, one of 100 Women to KNOW in America, and an Eames Curious 100. Today, she not only helps companies innovate from a place of purpose but also guides leaders to their peak performance. Bonnie has taught The Life Brief at Accenture, AirBnB, Apple, Cannes  Lions Festival of Creativity, Change.org, Chief, Google, SXSW, and World 50 Group as well as for Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop, and Jane Goodall’s Activating Hope Summit.

    Bonnie lives with her husband, four kids, mom, and Charlie the dog in Portland, OR.

Alex Center

Founder & Creative Director, CENTER

  • Alex Center is a Brooklyn-based designer and founder of CENTER, an award-winning branding studio known for building bold, culturally relevant brands. Before launching his own company, he spent nearly a decade at The Coca-Cola Company, where he helped shape global brands like vitaminwater and smartwater.

    At CENTER, he’s partnered with icons like Apple and New Balance, breakout startups like Kin Euphorics and Liquid Death, and helped create brands including United Sodas, Ayoh!, and Bero. He also teaches in SVA’s Masters in Branding program, serves on the board of the Art Directors Club, and cohosts the podcast Front & Center. In his shrinking personal time he enjoys watching reality television, sitting on a beach chair next to his wife Jackie and finding reasons to believe that this is the year for the Knicks or the Mets. 

Joelle Tomlinson

Journalist, speaker, emcee, and morning host of Country 105 in Calgary

  • Joelle Tomlinson is a journalist, speaker, emcee, and morning host of Country 105 in Calgary. Known for her warmth, curiosity, and ability to create meaningful conversations, she has spent the past 15 years building a trusted voice across Western Canada. Her career has taken her from reporting in Saskatoon to anchoring major market television,  and now connecting with listeners each weekday on one of Calgary’s most-listened-to morning radio shows. 

    On stage, Joelle brings the same thoughtful storytelling and authentic presence that have defined her broadcasting career. She has moderated conversations and hosted events across North America, guiding discussions with leaders, entrepreneurs, authors, athletes, and changemakers. Her ability to put people at ease, ask thoughtful questions, and create genuine connection allows her to transform interviews and panels into memorable experiences that resonate long after the event ends. 

    An avid traveller and runner, Joelle has explored different corners of the world, fueling a lifelong curiosity and passion for learning. Whether behind a microphone, on a stage, or in conversation with a community, she believes stories have the power to bring people together, challenge perspectives, and inspire action. Through honest dialogue and authentic connection, she strives to create experiences that leave audiences feeling informed, energized, and understood. 

Shez Mehra

Founder, The 194 Group | Partner, AudioBrand.io and Raina

  • Shez Mehra is a creative entrepreneur, producer, strategist, and DJ working at the intersection of sound, culture, technology, and brand experience. 
     
    His career began behind the decks, performing in cities around the world and helping shape the atmosphere of everything from luxury hospitality venues and private gatherings to major cultural, entertainment, and sporting events. Years spent reading rooms, understanding audiences, and creating emotional connection through sound formed the foundation of how he approaches business, creativity, and experience design today. As a producer and A&R, he has also collaborated with artists including Drake and The Clipse. 
     
    Today, as Founder of The 194 Group and Partner at Audio Branding and Raina, Shez helps organizations think more intentionally about the experiences they create and the role sound plays within them. His work spans sonic branding, hospitality, entertainment, experiential marketing, and cultural partnerships. 
     
    Over the past decade, he has helped brands including Google, Nike, Four Seasons, BMW, Mastercard, Shopify, Samsung, and Rolls-Royce use sound, story, and experience to create stronger connections with the people they serve. 

    Shez has shared his thinking at The Gathering, Future Festival, Effie Canada, the American Marketing Association, the ICA, and Miami Ad School. Based in the Greater Toronto Area, he remains fascinated by how sound influences memory, emotion, behavior, and the experiences people remember long after they leave the room. 

Natalie Preddie

Award-winning travel journalist, producer, writer, and on-air personality

  • Natalie Preddie is an award-winning travel journalist, producer, writer, and on-air personality whose work appears in leading publications including the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Travel + Leisure, The Washington Post, and National Geographic. She is also co-author of Dance Adventures (2020) and Lonely Planet: Epic Runs (2024). 

    She is the creator, producer, writer, and host of Beyond the Resort, a travel series exploring the Caribbean through culture, history, and community, and hosts Get Lost with Natalie Preddie. 

    Natalie’s work has earned industry recognition including 1st Place for Best International Travel Story (2023, SATW) and Female Travel Creator of the Year (2025, GreetHer). She is also a 2026 nominee for CaribBiz’s Top Caribbean Women to Watch and the Women of Excellence Award for global impact and entrepreneurship. In 2021, she won the Amazon Studios/ISO/Black Screen Office Pitch Program. 

    A familiar face across Canadian media, Natalie appears regularly on Breakfast Television, Global News, and Zoomer TV, and contributes to radio and podcasts on travel trends and industry insights. 

    An advocate for BIPOC representation, her work centers cultural and economic sustainability in travel. She is also an ambassador for Children Believe. 

    Most importantly, she is the mother of 3 little boys aged 5, 7 and 9. 

CPG Panel

Beyond the Shelf: Making Products People Want 

Elysia Vandenhurk

Chief Brand & Innovation Officer and a founding partner of Three Farmers Foods

  • Elysia Vandenhurk is the Chief Brand & Innovation Officer and a founding partner of Three Farmers Foods, one of Canada’s fastest‑growing better‑for‑you snack brands. With over 15 years of experience in CPG brand building, innovation, and commercialization, she has helped grow Three Farmers from a Saskatchewan farm‑based concept into a nationally distributed brand found in major retailers across the country. 

    A Red Seal Chef who trained under globally renowned chefs including Susur Lee, Elysia brings a deep understanding of flavour, product quality, and consumer behaviour to her innovation leadership. She has led the development and commercialization of multiple award‑winning product lines, transforming Canadian‑grown pulses into high‑velocity snack formats that meet the needs of modern consumers. 

    As CBIO, Elysia oversees brand strategy, consumer insights, product innovation, and go‑to‑market execution across retail, digital, and Amazon marketplaces. Three Farmers operates a 30,000‑square‑foot manufacturing facility in Saskatoon—located in the heart of Canada’s pulse‑growing region—enabling tight integration between local agriculture, product development, and national commercialization. 

Shawn Moen

Craft Brewer, Lawyer & Nuffield Scholar

  • Shawn Moen is a craft brewer, a lawyer, and a Nuffield Scholar. He is passionate about seeing Saskatchewan rise to the occasion and realize its economic potential by creatively approaching the question of "ag-value", making self-sustaining and longview investment decisions, and embracing a collaborative ethos amongst industry, government, and community. He is a 5th generation Saskatchewanian with farming roots in the southwest. 

Amanda Singh-Gomez

Senior Manager, Store Brands, Federated Co-operatives Limited 

  • Amanda is a private label and product development leader with more than 12 years of experience across Canada's leading grocery retailers, including Federated Co-operatives Limited, Save-On-Foods and Loblaw Companies Limited. She specializes in private label strategy, sourcing, product development, portfolio management, and supplier partnerships. 

     Throughout her career, Amanda has led the development and launch of hundreds of private label products, driving meaningful growth, fostering innovation, and delivering significant cost savings. She is passionate about building customer-centric brands, developing high-performing teams, and leveraging data-driven insights to create sustainable business value. 

     Currently, Amanda leads the Store Brands Product Development team at FCL, where she is focused on portfolio optimization, innovation, supplier collaboration and strengthening the long-term competitiveness of the Store Brands portfolio. 

Moderated by:

Eric Anderson

Storyteller & Host of YXE Underground 

  • Eric Anderson’s professional career has revolved around the art of communication and storytelling. He was a high school English and History teacher in rural Saskatchewan for two years before switching to a career in journalism. For nearly eight years, Eric worked as a journalist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. In that time, he told stories from across North America that focused on compelling and meaningful subjects and the narratives they had to share. He was also able to share those stories in a variety of formats including radio interviews, radio documentaries, online stories and television profiles.  
     
    This background has allowed Eric to fit in nicely at Sherbrooke Community Centre in Saskatoon and with the Eden Alternative® philosophy. Sherbrooke is home to so many compelling stories that deserve to be told and shared with the community. By using social media and traditional media sources such as television and newspapers, Eric has been effectively sharing the stories of Sherbrooke’s Elders, staff and volunteers with not only our local community but across Canada as well.  
     
    Eric is also the host and producer of YXE Underground; a hyperlocal podcast that shines a light on people and organizations doing great things in Saskatoon but are flying under the radar. The podcast launched in 2018, has released more than 130 episodes, and has more than 85,000 downloads and streams.  

Explore last years speakers